Neuroscientist Jason Castro fields brain questions for Minnesota Public Radio

In an installment of the series “Ask a Neuroscientist,” the Minnesota Public Radio show The Daily Circuit tosses two questions to Jason Castro, a new assistant professor of psychology at Bates.

The first question is whether the brains of introverts and extraverts differ. Yes, says Castro, but “we don’t have experiments that really address whether those brain differences play a causal role.”

The second is what neuroscience tells us about free will. In fact, we may have free will and not even know it. “There is brain activity that registers our intent to make a decision — a spontaneous decision — well before we’ve consciously decided to make a decision,” Castro says.